Mmmmm! Rich and tasty! A lobster is sure to put everyone in the mood for Valentine’s. Top chef Ed Brown has romantic recipes

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They’re pink, they’re luscious, they’re expensive. What could better say "love" than lobsters? OK, maybe diamonds. But when it comes to food to make the heart beat faster, almost nothing beats this coveted crustacean. Ed Brown, executive chef of the noted Sea Grill restaurant at Rockefeller Center in New York City, was invited on the “Today” show to demonstrate his succulent lobster dishes. Here are the recipes.

Remove claws and knuckles, cook fully (by steaming or in boiling water) and set aside in refrigerator. Cook the tails separately for only 5 minutes, chill and split centrally, resulting in 4 halves.

In a medium non-stick sauté pan at medium heat melt butter until sizzling, add blanched lobster meat (in shell), meat side facing down. Increase heat to medium-high and cook about 3 minutes each side. Season at the end of this step.

In a medium sauté pan on medium-high heat melt oil and butter together with bacon. When fat is sizzling, add mushrooms and cook, moving infrequently, for about 3 to 4 minutes. Add shallots, herbs, salt and pepper, and remove to a flat plate. Set aside and do not refrigerate.

In a non-reactive medium saucepan heat oil on medium fire, add onion and sweat gently without color until translucent. Add rice and cook while stirring for 1 minute. Add wine and bring to simmer while stirring. Add stock 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly until rice is tender (may not use all). Add lobster in last 2 minutes of cooking to heat. Remove from the heat, add butter and cheese. Mix well.

Assembly:Divide the risotto equally on 4 plates, top with mushroom mixture.

Assembly:Remove tail meat from shells. Lay shells from half lobster on each of four plates. Pour some sauce in each shell. Cut lobster in chunks and place back in the shells. Mound salad on top of each lobster body. Drizzle remaining sauce around.

In a heavy-bottomed, non-reactive soup pot heat oil at medium-high heat. Add shells and let cook , move infrequently until forming a fond (crust) on the bottom. Add onion and carrot and cook until caramelized (about 10 minutes). Add tomato paste and cook 4 to 5 minutes. Add Cognac, then deglaze with the wine, scraping the bottom to release the fond, and bring to simmer. Add cream, water, garlic and herbs, bring to a boil, then simmer about 30 minutes. Season with soy, salt and pepper. Strain twice through fine sieve strainer.

Assembly:Warm the soybeans and lobster in the soup at the last moment and spoon into the cups. OPTIONAL: Serve in cappuccino cups, top with a little warm frothed milk. Sprinkle top with dried, pulverized lobster coral (the red roe sometimes found in lobsters).